Nduwayezu Nkurunziza has had a long and winding road to his senior year at Evanston.

He was born in Rwanda and spent time during his youth at a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2015.

Through each twist and turn, there’s been one constant in Nkurunziza’s life: soccer.

“Since I was born, I’ve played nothing else,” said Nkurunziza, who also is known around campus by his nickname “Crews.”

“I’ve played for fun, and it’s also great for the competition.”

That competitive nature is being nurtured this fall as one of the Wildkits’ top players. He started school too late in 2015 to play for the Wildkits, but thanks in part to coach Franz Calixte’s prodding, the attacking midfielder and forward became a varsity mainstay his sophomore year in 2016.

He helped Evanston advance to consecutive supersectionals in 2016 and 2017 and, along with junior Matthew Webley, is being counted on as an offensive leader this fall as Evanston hopes for another long playoff run.

“He’s the real deal,” Calixte said. “He’s such a good soccer player, but it’s also been great to see him grow more comfortable away from soccer.”

Nkurunziza appreciates the guidance Calixte has provided. A lesson the coach instilled in him early on helped his soccer game and, in turn, helped increase his comfort level overall.

“Coach always encouraged me not to be afraid, just go as hard as you can,” Nkurunziza said. “Don’t worry about the English and everything else, just play soccer.”

The fluid manner in which Nkurunziza navigates the soccer pitch contrasts with the inevitable bumps he had to overcome as a new U.S. resident in 2015.

He’s the second-youngest of five siblings, so he had a built-in support system at home. He also learned English as a young child in Africa. But making friends at school and improving his English skills were some of the roadblocks he faced as he adapted to life in suburban Chicago.

Nkurunziza received some unanticipated help from two of his teammates, Syrian brothers Abraham and Ramin Abraham, who had arrived in the U.S. before Nkurunziza had.

Now, he’s not even the only Rwanda native on the team. Sophomore midfielder Eric Cyiza first met Nkurunziza in a camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now, they’re both Wildkits soccer players.

“When I found him, he started helping me,” Cyiza said. “The school is really big, and it’s hard to handle everything by yourself. I know some of my other guys on the team, but I feel happy to have him around.”

The two have become fast friends and also share a special bond with teammate Dominique Bahombwa, a junior forward from Tanzania who is in his first varsity season.

The three players sometimes reflect on their past and present, and they joke about the vast differences between soccer in Evanston and soccer in Africa.

“We would just play on dust and grass back home, not these nice fields,” Nkurunziza said while standing on the edge of Lazier Field, which has artificial turf. “The conditions are much different.”

Even the perfectly constructed balls that they use now are in stark contrast to what passed for a “ball” back home: layers of plastic bags strewn and taped together.

“I never thought I’d be in the United States,” Nkurunziza said. “But now that I am, I’m happy to be here.”